Switch bank



Nov. 17, 1970 SCHWAB EI'AL SWITCH BANK Filed April 23. 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

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INVENTORS PIERRE P. SCHWAB ROBERT W. POLLOCK AGENT Nov. 17, 1970 Filed April 23. 1969 SWITCH BANK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 56 F IG. 3 66 2 56 5 I 4 l2 4/55 as 58 as 36 7 l O 5 0 ll 46 2. 42 I5 4 o o f -43 48 29 If Win L nllllllm Lmmll INVENTORS PIERRE P. SCHWAB ROBERT W. POLLOCK AGENT United States Patent 3,541,286 SWITCH BANK Pierre P. Schwab, River Edge, N.J., and Robert W. Pollock, Manchester, N.H., assignors to McGraw-Edison Company, Elgiu, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 23, 1969, Ser. No. 818,638 Int. Cl. H01h 3/34, 3/50, 13/00 US. Cl. 200-156 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An object of the invention is to provide a switch bank wherein the respective switches are selectively operable by a common push button movable easily into registration with the switches.

Another object is to provide such switch bank wherein the respective switches have spring-pressed plungers depressible to step the switches ahead through successive cycles, and the common push button is detented in its switch registering positions.

Another object is to provide such switch bank wherein the common push button is detented by the spring-pressed plungers.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of our invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a double-row switch bank according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fractional vertical section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 to show the construction and mounting of the common push button for each switch bank;

FIG. 3 is a fractional vertical sectional view through the double-row switch bank taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the double-row switch bank.

The present switch device may comprise two rows or banks a and 10b of individual switches 11 respectively having plungers 12 for operating the switches. Switches may be of identical construction and each may be a rotary multi-position type which can be stepped ahead through successive cycles by a ratchet mechanism operable by successively depressing the plunger 12 of the switch. Each switch comprises a molded rectangular case 13 having a side wall 14 and integral left and right end walls 15 and 16 and top and bottom end walls 17 and 18. In the corner portions of the case are projecting locating pins 19 for engaging respective apertures in a cover plate 20. The rotor generally indicated at 21 is secured by pins 22 to the cover plate 20. A drive shaft 23 journaled in the side wall 14 is provided with a fiat 23a at its outer end by which it is coupled to the rotor. On the inner end of the rotor shaft 23 is a ratchet wheel 24, and next thereto on the shaft is an indicator wheel 25 having numbers marked on the periphery thereof (FIG. 1) to render the position of the switch visible via an opening 26 in the top wall 17 of the case.

Mounted in a molded block 27 on the side wall 14 is a cantilever spring 28 engaging the ratchet wheel 24 and operating as a one-way pawl to prevent backward counterclockwise movement of the rotor shaft. The plunger 12 extends through a downwardly ofiset corner portion 17a of the end wall 17 and at its lower end it engages a bearing hole 29 in a corner portion 18a of the bottom end wall 18. Press fitted onto an intermediate portion of the plunger is a plastic sleeve 30 having an oblique arm 31 extending inwardly from the lower end thereof. Mounted in this arm is a spring pawl 32 which engages the ratchet wheel, and extending integrally from the arm is a finger 33 having a tip shaped to engage the ratchet wheel at a distance of several teeth from the pawl 32. A compression spring 34 is interposed between the sleeve 30 and the corner portion 18a of the case to urge the plunger upwardly into unoperated position.

When the plunger is depressed against the spring 34 the pawl 32 is moved downwardly past one tooth of the ratchet wheel which is now restrained against movement in a backward direction by the one-way pawl 28. After passing the tooth the pawl is snapped by its own resilience against the ratchet Wheel to engage this tooth. As the pawl is so moved past a tooth of the ratchet wheel the finger 33 is moved out of engagement with the ratchet wheel. Upon releasing the plunger from its depressed position, the spring 34 returns the plunger to advance the switch by one step. At the end of this step the finger 33 comes into engagement with the ratchet wheel to define a single step advance of the rotor. Thus, upon successively depressing the plunger and releasing the same the rotor is advanced by successive steps through successive cycles. In each cycle there may, for example, be sixteen switch positions. On the indicator wheel 25 there are marked the numbers 1 to 16 in equal intervals so that the positioning of the switch is always visible via the opening 26.

The banks 10a and 10b of individual switches 11 are mounted on the under side of a mounting plate 35 having rows of openings 36 receiving the plungers 12. The switch cases of the two banks are in two stacks slightly spaced from each other (FIG. 4). In the bottom walls of the individual cases are recesses 37, and between the stacks is a channel bar 38 having outwardly extending lugs 39 engaging the respective recesses. The channel bas is apertured at intervals to receive long bolts 40 which thread into bosses 41 depending from the mounting plate to hold the cases clamped to the mounting plate. Similarly, at the back side of the back row 10b of switches is a plate 42 having turned over lugs 43 engaging the recesses 37 and having turned over apertured lugs 44 adjacent to the mounting plate which receive bolts 45 that thread into bosses 46 depending from the mounting plate (FIG. 3). Also, at the front side of the front row 10a. of switches is another plate 47 having turned over lugs 48 engaging the recesses 37. This plate has right angle arms 49 embracing the ends of the stack and provided with apertured lugs 50 receiving bolts 51 which likewise thread into the mounting plate.

The mounting plate 35 has an integral strip '52 of rectangular cross section on its under side along each row of openings 36, which engages the notched corner portions 17a of the switch casings 13 (FIG. 3). Also, the mounting plate has a raised track 53 on its upper side along each row of openings 36 through which projects the respective plungers 12 terminating with rounded tips, as shown. This track has longitudinal grooves 54 in its opposite side walls. A housing 55 for a push button 56 slidably embraces this track and has lateral inwardly projecting flanges 57 engaging the side grooves 54 to retain it slidably thereon. This is a molded housing of rectangular shape having a central well 58 (FIG. 2) receiving the push button and running through the bottom of the housing. The push button has a depending pin 62 for engaging the respective switch plungers to depress the same. The front and back walls of the housing have vertical slots 59 in their outer faces midway the width of the housing and have notches 59a in their bottom edges the width of the slots. Spanning the housing from front to back is a U-shaped detent plunger 60 having upturned legs 60a slidably engaging the vertical slots 59. This detent plunger is approximately as wide as the diameter of a well 5611 in the button '56, and has four lugs 61 lanced upwardly therefrom within the projected area of the well 56a. Inset in the well 56a is a compression spring 63 which presses at its bottom and against the lugs 61 to urge the detent plunger downwardly against the track 53 and which presses at its top end against the push button to hold it yieldably in unoperated position. In the detent plunger are two holes 60b for receiving two alternate switch buttons 12 in each position of the housing 5 5 wherein the push button 56 is in registration with the switch plunger 12 between these two alternate switch plungers. Also, in the detent plunger is a central clearance opening 600 for the switch button I12 registering with the push button and for the pin 62 when the push button is depressed.

Mounted on the housing is a cover plate 64 having front and back flanges 64a tightly embracing the front and back walls of the housing and extending downwardly approximately to the track 53. This cover plate has a clearance opening for the push button. A peripheral flange 56a on the push button abuts against the cover plate to stop the push button in its unoperated position. The cover plate has clearance openings 66 in the bottom edges of its front and back flanges for clearing the switch plungers 12 as the housing 55 is moved along the track 53 into position to operate'the respective switches.

The detent plunger 60 slidably engages the track 53 and the two openings 60a engage the two plungers adjacent the selected plunger to detent the housing in positions wherein the pin 62 of the push button is in registration with the selected plunger. As the housing is slid along the track the downward force of the detent plunger on the switch plungers is not sufficient to depress the latter but is sufficient to give a soft but definite detent action to locate the housing in successive positions for operating respective switches when the detent plunger reaches the positions wherein the openings 60a register with the switch plungers. This utilization of the spring-pressed plungers 12 and of a detent plunger 60 biased by the return spring 63 for the button 56 eliminates the need for any special spring to obtain the detent action.

Mounted on the back wall of the push button housing 55 is a pointer 68. This pointer registers with windows 69 in the mounting plate over the indicator openings 26 of the respective switches. The windows are marked by numbers from 1 to 30 (FIG. 1) to show the switch selected for operation by the push button.

We claim:

1. A bank of multiposition switches each having an operating mechanism including a ratchet and a depressible plunger for advancing the switch step-by-step through successive cycles, said switches having respective housings mounted in side-by-side arrangement with said plungers projecting through said housings and disposed at equal intervals in a line along said bank, a track extending along said plungers, a slide member interlockingly engaging said track for movement therealong into respective switch operating positions, and a push button on said slide member spring biased to unoperated position for selectively depressing said plungers.

2. The bank of switches set forth in claim 1 including a detent member movably mounted on said slide member, spring means interposed between said push button and said detent member for biasing said push button to unoperated position and concurrently biasing said detent member towards said line of plungers, said detent member having means for interengaging said switch plungers to detent the slide member in said switch operating positions.

3. The bank of switches set forth in claim 2 wherein said detent member is positioned over said track lengthwise thereof and is pressed yieldably against said track by said spring means, said detent member having a hole therein for receiving a switch plunger when said slide member is in a switch operating position.

4. The bank of switches set forth in claim 3 wherein said slide member traverses a length of said track including three switch plungers, and said detent member has holes for receiving two alternate switch plungers in each detent position of said slide member and has a central clearance opening for the intermediate switch plunger, said push button being in registration with said intermediate switch plunger for depressing the same when the slide member is in a detented position.

5. The bank of switches set forth in claim 1 wherein said switches have respective windows in a line at one side of said track, and said switches have rotor wheels bearing numbers on the peripheries thereof visible respectively via said windows to indicate the positioning of the respective switches, and wherein said slide member has a pointer for indicating the window of a selected switch when said push button is in registration with the plunger of said switch.

6. The bank of switches set forth in claim 1 wherein said track has undercut side edges and said slide member has lateral flanges interlockingly and slidably engaging said undercut edges to hold said slide member on said track while permitting movement of the slide member to place said push button selectively into registration with said plungers.

7. The bank of switches set forth in claim 6 wherein said detent member straddles said slide member from frontto-back and has two spaced portions at opposite sides of said push button for releasably engaging the two plungers opposite a selected plunger to detent the slide member when said push button is in registration with a selected plunger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,104,299 9/1963 Koci et al 200-156 3,211,846 10/1965 Hutt et al 200--156 X ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner W. J. SMITH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 20011,18, 172 

